[Following in the footsteps of Gov. Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown, who was a Jesuit seminarian] Wanted to go to the seminary: Now “faithful” pro-abortion assemblyman April 2, 2015 cal-catholic.com/?p=17920 The following comes from a Feb. 2 segment of a series on freshmen state legislators. God or Country [Mammon]? Miguel Santiago has contemplated devoting his life to both. Tracing an arc Gov. Jerry Brown followed decades ago, the Democratic Assembly member from Los Angeles entered politics despite initially intending to spend his life serving in the Catholic Church. “My mindset was for some time, even during my college years – I didn’t share it with my friends at the time – that I really had a deep passion and wanted to go the seminary,” Santiago said. “I ended up in politics but quite frankly I was on my way to the seminary – at least mentally prepared.” In the end, politics prevailed. Santiago recounts an awakening familiar to many young Latino politicians in California: the son of Mexican immigrants, he was pushed into politics when voters acted first to deny immigrants public services by passing Proposition 187 in 1994 and then to end race-conscious admissions policies with Proposition 209 in 1996. “When Proposition 209 came about, for me that was a moment that I decided that public service was going to be where I needed to be and what I wanted to do,” Santiago said. Santiago’s career prior to the Legislature has involved community organizing around access to higher education and healthcare and, most recently, a stint as district director for former Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez [see Cal Catholic story on Perez: cal-catholic.com/?p=7105 ]. His faith has endured throughout. “I’m not going to agree with everything the Catholic Church has, from some of the belief systems to policy beliefs,” Santiago said, but “as a practicing Catholic I still attend mass on holy days of obligation and periodically jump into a parish just to say a prayer or two.”
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Wanted to go to the seminary: Now “faithful” pro-abortion assemblyman
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Los Angeles church hosts Stations of the Cross using yoga
["Body in Prayer": Influenced by JP2's "Theology of the Body"?] Los Angeles church hosts Stations of the Cross using yoga Practice is supposed to let us better enter Jesus’ suffering April 2, 2015 cal-catholic.com/?p=17928 The following comes from a March 28 Huffington Post article by Antonia Blumberg: Anne Kelley, a Seattle-based attorney, was looking for a way to engage with the stations of the cross on a deeper level when she stumbled upon the idea of incorporating yoga into the practice. “My inspiration was that if we used our whole body, heart and soul to focus on the Stations, we could better enter into [Jesus’] suffering and open ourselves to [a] deeper relationship with God,” Kelley said in an email to The Huffington Post. Jesus does yoga? Eric Armusik’s depictions of the stations of the cross, inspired by the yoga movements of Body in Prayer (Huffington Post) Kelley recruited the help of yoga instructor Cynthia Simon and artist Eric Armusik to bring her project, called “Body in Prayer,” to fruition. Simon helped identify the positions and movements that would best capture the spirit of the stations, while Armusik artistically represented them in a series of 14 paintings that now hang in Kelley’s local Seattle parish. The Body in Prayer series is meant to help people meditate on Jesus, said Kelley, and is not meant “to port any of the stated spiritual outputs of yoga in the transcendental or Hindu sense.” Because yoga is now so popular, said Kelley, she hopes the series will provide a recognizable and “great shorthand way of getting people to move their bodies into positions that [are] relatively safe, in a repeatable, reliable way.” On Saturday, Holy Family Church in Los Angeles will host the Body in Prayer yoga stations of the cross for the sixth year in a row, offering participants a “multi-sensory meditation” on Jesus’ last day. The following day is Palm Sunday in the Christian tradition and the official start of Holy Week leading up to Easter.
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“Gay Marriage” and the frenzy of hate
“Gay Marriage” and the frenzy of hate Posted by Paul Anthony Melanson 4/1/15 lasalettejourney.blogspot.com/2015/04/gay-marriage-and-frenzy-of-hate.html John Zmirak writes, “The expected Supreme Court decision imposing on 50 states an entirely new understanding of marriage, and the frenzy of hatred that gay activists have stoked against Indiana for trying to shelter religious believers from crippling lawsuits should wake us to a cold and stark reality: The age of tolerance in America is vanishing before your eyes. The question is how Christians and other people of faith and good will are going to respond.” Let’s break this down in stark and simple terms: Not only were gay activists willing to overturn an act of Congress (the Defense of Marriage Act) on spurious grounds; they also wish to force their libertine idea of marriage onto voters in each of the 50 states, voiding dozens of laws on an issue that has always rested with the states. Not satisfied with that, these activists want the full force of the regulatory state to compel every single American to affirm and accept the delusion of same-sex “marriage,” under the same civil and criminal penalties that now forbid discrimination by race. A famous case was a 70-year-old Christian florist who declined to decorate a gay wedding, and was crushed by a successful lawsuit and the full force of the ACLU’s legal team. She was one of the Brave New Law’s first victims. She will be far from the last. These activists use the power of city governments (as in San Francisco) to try to intimidate isolated Catholic schools into abandoning Christian teaching on sexual ethics. Such zealots corrupt the academic authorities who grant accreditation in order to financially cripple schools such as Gordon College that maintain Christian “morals” clauses as part of their hiring policies. Those who defend the reality of marriage, including even unbelievers who defend freedom of religion and association, are not simply wrong — they are “bigots” and “haters” who deserve to be fined, boycotted and bankrupted; to lose their jobs like Brendan Eich, the ex-CEO of Mozilla, and face financial ruin — as Elton John hopes to break Dolce & Gabbana, and as Apple CEO Tim Cook hopes to break the entire State of Indiana. Politicians are joining in, with the Connecticut governor, and Seattle and San Francisco mayors, banning official travel to Indiana. As Austin Ruse points out, states such as Indiana are not giving Christians a pass to broadly discriminate against gays. Such religious freedom laws “deal with the very narrow question of whether vendors can be forced by the state to participate in religious ceremonies that violate their own religious consciences.” Given the fanatical response to a modest bill virtually identical to a federal law upheld by courts and bills on the books in twenty other states, how long before the call comes out for the “bigots” to be imprisoned? The First Amendment won’t protect us, if leaders like Hillary Clinton have their way; in public statements she followed President Obama in Continue Reading
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Duck and Cover Catholicism
[The Church Milktoast in action] Duck and Cover Catholicism by R. R. Reno 4 . 2 . 2015 www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2015/04/duck-and-cover-catholicism As I expected, the leaders of the Catholic Church have done everything they can to avoid saying anything in response to the furor over the Indiana RFRA. Their counsel is “dialogue,” an unfortunate weasel word long used by administrators who don’t want to take a stand. On its face, the wording of this bland statement suggests the bishops believe the Indiana law could permit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. (They’re calling for “dialogue” to make sure that doesn’t happen.) But this is an over-reading of the statement. It’s really just a political evasion of responsibility searching for words. Some months ago, I predicted that Catholicism in America would basically accommodate itself to whatever sexual regime dominates our society. The accommodation won’t be explicit. The Church won’t endorse homosexuality or gay marriage. Instead, the bishops will step aside, avoid controversy, and just stop talking about things that carry a high price for dissent. This duck-and-cover non-statement fits perfectly into this trajectory. My first impulse is to laugh. The statement tries to signal support for religious freedom, but qualifies. “The rights of a person should never be used inappropriately in order to deny the rights of another.” And so maybe Tim Cook is right to denounce the Indiana law. Time for dialogue. Oh, “justice and mercy” too. But wait, religious liberty is important. Except when it’s not. But sometimes it really is . . . But I can’t laugh, because the tragedy is too poignant. Doubtless there are faithful Catholics in Indiana who think marriage is only possible between a man and a woman. Doubtless they resist the pro-gay propaganda their children are subjected to by the media and often in school. Doubtless they try to support the Church’s teaching on sex, family, and marriage. In the midst of a propaganda blitz denouncing all dissent from the coming regime of gay rights, this anodyne non-statement says to them, “You’re on your own.” I’m sure that’s not the intent of the Indiana bishops. They’re undoubtedly faithful men trying to be good pastors. But they’re also disoriented by the rapid pace of cultural and political change in America (aren’t we all). And, to be frank, they’re also disoriented by mixed messages from Rome. (Who are they to judge?) They’re as frightened as the rest of us of being denounced as “homophobic bigots.” Furthermore, it’s surely true that many Catholics under their care believe the hyper-denunciatory propaganda campaign against the Indiana law and would respond with anger and outrage to any clear statement supporting it. Every option has a price. So they find a way to do nothing. Duck-and-cover. I’m all for sober, dispassionate, and non-partisan church leadership that stays focused on core moral and religious principles rather than allowing itself to be drawn into the partisan fray. But connection to reality is important too. Right now the propaganda against the Indiana RFRA has Continue Reading
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Pledge allegiance to the LGBT movement, or else
[LGBT uber alles] Pledge allegiance to the LGBT movement, or else Louie Verrecchio April 1, 2015 harvestingthefruit.com/lgbt-pledge/ “I pledge allegiance to the LGBT movement, and do so solemnly swear that I will never fail to uphold my duty to always and everywhere, in public and in private, embrace and encourage, affirm and applaud all forms of homosexual activity. I hereby further pledge to confirm and to celebrate the sacred institution of same-sex marriage, and I promise to defend even unto death the inalienable right of every human person to determine the gender identity of their own choosing. So help me.” Are you prepared to take the oath? If not, you may one day find yourself dragged into court, fined unto bankruptcy, and perhaps even imprisoned; all right here in God Bless America, home of the brave and land of the free. There can be no doubt whatsoever that this is precisely where things are headed in the United States, which is precisely why we need laws like the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Right? Well, not exactly. The RFRA, in spite of whatever good its authors may intend, is an exercise in futility and destined to fail. For Catholics, this much should be entirely obvious. Even so, according to a statement issued by the Indiana Catholic Conference (which is “the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in Indiana”) the state’s recently passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act is “a prudent way to ensure the religious freedom of Hoosier individuals and institutions.” As for why the RFRA is needed, the statement said, “The government is expanding its regulatory powers to redefine and intrude into areas traditionally beyond the authority of the state.” The Act is ostensibly intended to protect business owners and private individuals that might otherwise be forced by the government to carry out actions that are contrary to their religious convictions. Within moments of its being signed into law, the Act was met with angry protests on the part of (who else?) LGBT activists who are deeply concerned that the RFRA may prohibit them from forcing people with moral convictions to celebrate their sexual deviancy under threat of government sanctioned legal action. When asked by ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday if the law will allow business owners to refuse participation (i.e., providing goods or services) in same-sex “weddings,” Indiana Governor Mike Pence skirted the question. Pence decried what he called “shameless rhetoric” on the part of the law’s opponents and their friends in the media, saying: The question here is if there is a government action or a law that an individual believes impinges on their religious liberty, they have the opportunity to go to court, just as the Religious Freedom and Reformation Act that Bill Clinton signed allowed them, to go to court and the court would evaluate the circumstance under the standards articulated in this act. One day later, Republican legislators in Indiana held a press conference to deny that the law is intended Continue Reading
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The cause of Robert Schuller commences
[Another "santo subito"] The cause of Robert Schuller commences Louie Verrecchio April 3, 2015 harvestingthefruit.com/the-cause-of-robert-schuller-commences/ Angel fan and Saint maker, Bishop Vann Yesterday, after word of the passing of Robert Schuller was made public, I sent the following Tweet linking my post on the topic: @DioceseofOrange Robert Schuller has died. How long before the canonization process begins? The answer? Less than 24 hours. Following is the Statement from Bishop Vann on the passing of Rev. Schuller posted on the diocesan website, with my own emphasis added: Rev. Robert H. Schuller was a man of great passion and love for Christ and the people of God. His ministry touched the hearts and minds of millions and showed the light of Christ to people all over the world. Since my appointment as the Bishop of Orange I have had the blessing to come to know Rev. Schuller and his family. Rev. Schuller and I, along with Fr. Christopher Smith, the Rector of Christ Cathedral, have been able to visit with Rev. Schuller and his family, and to pray with him on a number of occasions. I especially enjoyed our visit last year at this time, when I told him that I had seen him a number of times on television at my grandparents’ home. We reminisced together about his friendship with the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen. I thanked him for his inspiration to so many in his preaching of the Word of God. He was truly a man of great compassion and giving of his entire self to the mission of Christ in the world. We are blessed to honor his memory on the Christ Cathedral campus and to continue the mission of service, charity and evangelization begun here so many years ago. As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord, we pray for the soul of this humble servant of God as he is welcomed into eternity. The Most Rev. Kevin Vann Bishop of Orange Truly, this entire statement is an embarrassment, but let’s just focus, briefly, on the parts emphasized. …showed the light of Christ to people all over the world. How exactly did Schuller, an entrepreneur who dedicated his entire adult life to building his christobusiness, do this? Where is the “light of Christ” in false biblical interpretations? Where is the “light of Christ” in confirming people in their refusal of the Most Holy Eucharist? …his inspiration to so many in his preaching of the Word of God. Yes, I am sure his preaching on the Bread of Life discourse was rather inspiring. …the mission of Christ in the world. Apparently, Bishop Vann, like most of his post-conciliar confreres, doesn’t realize that the mission that Christ gave to His Church was to teach “everything whatsoever” that He commanded; not just the parts that fill the seats and swell the coffers. In short, the “mission of Christ” as given is to bring all persons into His Mystical Body, the Holy Catholic Church. Does Bishop Vann believe Continue Reading
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In Memoriam
Yesterday the Father Superior announced with great sadness that Fr. Mark Violette had passed into eternal life on March 31 after battling stringent cases of Leukemia. Everything that could be done was done and we appreciate the many prayers offered in his behalf. Now we have a true friend of Tradition and a holy priest to intercede for us in Heaven. Eternal Rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace, Amen.
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US bishop: We can’t overcome our culture’s ‘tyranny of evil’ unless we tackle the contraceptive mentality
US bishop: We can’t overcome our culture’s ‘tyranny of evil’ unless we tackle the contraceptive mentality The Most Rev. James Conley, Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska. www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/us-bishop-we-cant-overcome-our-cultures-tyranny-of-evil-unless-we-tackle-th Editor’s note: The Public Discourse published the following article last week in honor of the twentieth anniversary of St. John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae. We reprint it here with permission. April 1, 2015 (ThePublicDiscourse.com) — Last week, a young friend of mine attempted to defend the truth about marriage among a group of peers at a secular university. She presented a meaningful argument about families, social stability, and gender complementarity. None of her classmates refuted her arguments. Instead, they accused her of being a bigot and a homophobe, called her intolerant, and changed the topic to something less intellectually taxing. My friend’s experience is practically a cliché. Americans who offer traditional viewpoints on moral issues in the public square have become accustomed to calumny. They know that reasoned arguments will rarely receive reasoned refutation. In California, Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone has become the victim of a well-funded smear campaign because he expects that Catholic teachers shouldn’t publicly undermine Catholic beliefs. Last month, a philosophy professor was suspended from a Catholic university for criticizing heterodox instruction. Even non-believers suffer this fate. Fashion house Dolce and Gabbana is being boycotted because its owners believe that children deserve mothers and fathers. In the cultural conversation about moral issues, reasoned arguments seem increasingly drowned out by personal attacks. And twenty years ago today, Pope St. John Paul II predicted this would happen. Today marks the twentieth anniversary of John Paul’s Evangelium Vitae, his encyclical on the mission of the Gospel of Life. Evangelium Vitae is probably the most comprehensive and compelling encyclical on moral issues I have ever read. It addresses the evils of abortion, contraception, and euthanasia. But the encyclical is fundamentally concerned with the relationships between love, truth, freedom, and justice. Twenty years after its promulgation, we must return to Evangelium Vitae. Its message becomes more relevant each year. If we want to reverse our culture’s descent into socially accepted hedonism, we need to understand the connection between relativism, contraception, and abortion. The danger of contraception, Evangelium Vitae said, is that it fosters a “hedonistic mentality,” a “self-centered concept of freedom,” which places personal fulfillment at the center of life’s meaning and purpose. Abortion is the radical choice for personal fulfillment, convenience, or “freedom,” even at the immediate expense of another’s life. Together, contraception and abortion have contributed to a culture that believes that personal happiness is the highest possible human aim, and that it ought to be pursued by all possible means. The consequences of contraception’s denial of the truth about human sexuality, said John Paul, have put “freedom” on the path of self-destruction. John Paul II cautioned: freedom negates and destroys itself, and becomes a factor leading to the destruction of others, when it no longer recognizes and respects its essential link with the truth. When freedom, out of a desire to emancipate itself Continue Reading
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Indiana and the Coming Crucifixion of Christ
Indiana and the Coming Crucifixion of Christ TheRemnantvideo Published on Apr 3, 2015 Has the persecution begun already? What can we learn from Indiana’s war on religious liberty?
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Prayers requested
Hello, Friends I am reluctant to ask, but please remember my family and me in your prayers over Easter if you can. We are facing some serious trials. In a homily I heard yesterday at Good Friday Liturgy of the Passion and Death of Our Lord, the priest said that every cross we receive is a bridge to brighter life. I am meditating on that now. Thanks for your kindness. ECS220
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Just Bake the Stinkin’ Cake!!!
[Too graphic for the National not-so-Catholic Register] Just Bake the Stinkin’ Cake!!! The Gaystapo in action Posted by matthew archbold at 4/04/2015 www.creativeminorityreport.com/2015/04/just-bake-stinkin-cake.html This sums up the debate pretty well for me.
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MARTYROLOGY-APRIL 5
Martyrology-April 5th Roman Martyrology-April 5th-on this date in various years- At Vannes in Brittany, St. Vincent Ferrer, of the Order of Preachers, and confessor. He was mighty in word and deed, and converted many thousands of infidels to Christ. In Africa, during the persecution of the Arian king Genseric, the holy martyrs who were murdered in the church on Easter day. The lector, while singing “Alleluia” at the lectern, was pierced through the throat by an arrow. The same day, the martyr St. Zeno, who was covered with pitch, cast into the fire, and wounded by the thrust of a spear, thus gaining the crown of martyrdom. On the island of Lesbos, the martyrdom of five holy virgins, who were slain by the sword. At Thessalonica, the virgin St. Irene, who was imprisoned for hiding the sacred books, contrary to the order of Diocletian. She was pierced with an arrow, then burned to death by order of the governor Dulcetius, under whom her sisters Agape and Chiónia had previously suffered. In the monastery at Palma, in the diocese of Majorca, the birthday of St. Catherine Thomas, Canoness Regular of the Order of St. Augustine, whom Pope Pius XI, in the fiftieth year of his priesthood, placed among the number of virgin saints. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.
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MARTYROLOGY-APRIL 6
On Easter Sunday, before naming the day of the month On this day, which the Lord hath made, is the Solemnity of Solemnities, and our Pasch; the Resurrection of our Saviour Jesus Christ according to the flesh. Then the day of the month is announced and the Martyrology for the following day is read according to the usual manner. Martyrology-April 6th Roman Martyrology-April 6th-on this date in various years- At Milan, the passion of St. Peter, a martyr belonging to the Order of Preachers, who was slain by the heretics for his Catholic faith. His feast, however, is kept on the 29th of April. In Moravia, the birthday of St. Methodius, bishop and confessor. Together with his brother, the bishop St. Cyril, whose birthday was the 14th of February, he converted many of the Slav races and their rulers to the faith of Christ. Their feast is celebrated on the 7th day of July. In Macedonia, the holy martyrs Timothy and Diogenes. In Persia, one hundred and twenty holy martyrs. At Ascalon in Palestine, the passion of St. Platonides and two other martyrs. At Carthage, St. Marcellin, who was slain by the heretics for defending the Catholic faith. In Denmark, St. William, an abbot renowned for his saintly life and miracles. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.
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Regina Caeli Happy Easter 2015
Regina caeli laetare, alleluia: Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia, Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia. Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia. V. Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, alleluia. R. Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia. Oremus Deus, qui per resurrectionem Filii tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi mundum laetificare dignatus espraesta quaesumus, ut per eius Genitricem Virginem Mariam perpetuae capiamus gaudia vitae. Per eumdem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen. Queen of Heaven, rejoice, alleluia: For He whom thou didst merit to bear, alleluia, Hath risen, as He said, alleluia. Pray for us to God, alleluia. V. Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, alleluia. R. Because the Lord is truly risen, alleluia. Let us pray. O God, who by the Resurrection of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, hast vouchsafed to make glad the whole world: grant, we beseech Thee, that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, His Mother, we may lay hold of the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
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A Blessed Easter to One and All
Most gratefully, a blessed Easter to every member of the AQ family. With special thanks, again, for all your prayers in recent weeks. God reward you, everyone! Patrick
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Limbo, by Sister Mary Ada
The ancient greyness shifted suddenly and thinned like mist upon the moors before a wind. An old, old prophet lifted a shining face and said: “He will be coming soon. The Son of God is dead; He died this afternoon.” A murmurous excitement stirred all souls. They wondered if they dreamed save one old man who seemed not even to have heard. And Moses, standing, hushed them all to ask if any had a welcome song prepared. If not, would David take the task? And if they cared could not the three young children sing the Benedicite, the canticle of praise they made when God kept them from perishing in the fiery blaze? A breath of spring surprised them, stilling Moses’ words. No one could speak, remembering the first fresh flowers, the little singing birds. Still others thought of fields new ploughed or apple trees all blossom-boughed. Or some, the way a dried bed fills with water laughing down green hills. The fisherfolk dreamed of the foam on bright blue seas. The one old man who had not stirred remembered home. And there He was, splendid as the morning sun and fair as only God is fair. And they, confused with joy, knelt to adore Seeing that He wore five crimson stars He never had before. No canticle at all was sung. None toned a psalm, or raised a greeting song, A silent man alone of all that throng found tongue — not any other. Close to His heart when the embrace was done, old Joseph said, “How is Your Mother, How is Your Mother, Son?”
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Funeral planned for Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller
[The Catholic Christ Cathedral (still under "renovation") will be the Schullerite Crystal Cathedral for at least one more occasion (his funeral and burial on the grounds)] Funeral planned for Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller The funeral for the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, who died Thursday, will be held April 20 at the former Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. By Abby Sewell 4/5/15 www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-robert-schuller-memorial-20150405-story.html A funeral service will be held for Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller this month at the church his family made famous, a family representative said. The service will be held April 20 at 10 a.m. at the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove — formerly Crystal Cathedral. Carol Schuller Milner, Schuller’s daughter, said the public service will be held in the plaza “encircled by the four architectural structures built during Dr. Schuller’s years of leadership: the Crystal Cathedral, the Arboretum, the Tower of Hope” and the Richard Meier visitor’s center. The closed-casket service will be followed by a procession to the Memorial Gardens, where Schuller will be buried next to his wife, Arvella. Schuller Milner said that although the burial ceremony will be private, the public will be able to view it from outside the garden. The service will be led by Dan Chun, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu and a friend of Schuller. Schuller died Thursday at age 88 at a care facility in Artesia. He had esophageal cancer. Schuller started his first ministry in 1955 at a drive-in theater. He went on to become one of America’s most prominent evangelical preachers, known for his “Hour of Power” television program and building the iconic Garden Grove church campus with its glass-paned cathedral. But the church fell into hardship in Schuller’s final years. In October 2010, the church, then led by Schuller’s daughter Sheila Schuller Coleman, declared bankruptcy. The cathedral and surrounding property were sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in February 2012. Schuller Milner said Christ Cathedral has agreed to pay for service expenses “in honor of Dr. Schuller’s contribution to faith and to the campus now owned by the diocese,” and friends of the family have offered to pay the remaining mortuary expenses.
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Fewer people choosing to join consecrated life
“Many [Catholic consecrated life] congregations would say their numbers are down” – a gross understatement; they have plummeted! Fewer people choosing to join consecrated life By Lisa Pemberton April 5, 2015 www.bellinghamherald.com/2015/04/05/4223140_fewer-people-choosing-to-join.html?rh=1 The steep decline in the number of monks at Saint Martin’s Abbey [in Lacey, Washington] isn’t unusual for Roman Catholic monasteries: [Currently 27 monks (7 of whom live outside the monastery) down from 96 in 1974 (with a startling loss of 34 between 1974 and 1978)] “If you take a look at Catholic consecrated life across the United States, many congregations would say their numbers are down,” Owen Cummings of Mount Angel Seminary near Salem, Oregon, said. Last year, there were 38,275 Catholic priests in the United States, more than 20,000 fewer than in 1965, according the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, a Georgetown University-affiliated organization that studies trends in the Catholic Church. The decline in “religious priests” — those who live in a priestly community such as a monastery — took an even sharper dive, falling to 12,010 from 22,707 in the same time frame. Meantime, the number of “religious brothers,” which includes unordained monks, dropped to 4,318 from 12,271, according to the center. Part of the decline in consecrated life stems from rules changed during Vatican II in the early 1960s, Cummings said. The new rules allowed lay people to perform some church duties that previously were exclusive to priests, nuns and monks. Other theories for the decline include a fall in birth rates, a society more based on consumerism and the church dropping its ban on letting girls help priests during Mass in the early 1980s. Some believe also it is tied to the sex and child abuse scandals that have rocked the church and led to congregation declines over the past three decades.
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MARTYROLOGY-APRIL 7
Martyrology-April 7th Roman Martyrology-April 7th-on this date in various years- At Rouen, the birthday of St. John Baptist de la Salle, priest and confessor. He was prominent in the education of youth, especially those who were poor, for which he was acclaimed both by religious and civil society. He was the founder of the Society of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. Pius XII, Supreme Pontiff, declared him patron of all those who teach children and young people. His feast is celebrated on the 15th of May. In Africa, the birthday of the holy martyrs Epiphanius bishop, Donatus, Rufinus and thirteen others. At Alexandria, St. Peleusius, priest and martyr. At Sinope, in Pontus, two hundred holy martyrs. In Cilicia, under the prefect Maximus, St. Calliopius, martyr. After undergoing other torments, he was fastened to a cross with his head downward, and thus gained the noble crown of martyrdom. At Nicomedia, St. Cyriacus and ten other martyrs. At Verona, St. Saturninus, bishop and confessor. At Rome, St. Hegesippus, who lived close to the time of the apostles. He came to Rome while Anicetus was pope, and remained until the time of Eleutherius. He wrote a history of the Church, from the Passion of our Lord to his own time, in a simple style, to make clear the character of those whose life he imitated. In Syria, in the time of Valens, St. Aphraates, an anchoret, who defended the Catholic faith against the Arians by the power of miracles. And elsewhere in divers places, many other holy martyrs, confessors, and holy virgins. R. Thanks be to God.
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Pope condemns “complicit silence” on jihad attacks on Christians
[Such as His Holiness' silence to the letter from (and 500,000-signature petition for) the Pakistani Catholic Asia Bibi - imprisoned and sentenced to death for "blasphemy" against Islam (see comments below)] Pope condemns “complicit silence” on jihad attacks on Christians April 5, 2015 By Robert Spencer www.jihadwatch.org/2015/04/pope-condemns-complicit-silence-on-jihad-attacks-on-christians The Pope is upset about the “complicit silence” of Christians about the persecution of Christians by Muslims, but did he himself name the perpetrator and explain why this persecution is happening? If he did, there is no hint of it in this AFP story. Pope Francis has said, “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.” Could that have had anything to do with this “complicit silence”? Catholics in particular saw that the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome, was saying that Islam was a Religion of Peace, and there is no doubt whatsoever that it had a chilling effect: given the creeping papalolatry that besets the Roman Catholic Church, people were afraid to discuss the motives, goals, and identity of the persecutors, for fear of going against the Pope’s statement and the Vatican’s policy of “dialogue.” If the Pope is upset about this “complicit silence,” maybe he should call in the American bishops — and McManus is by no means the only one — who thinks complicit silence is the way to go when it comes to the Muslim persecution of Christians: “Talk about extreme, militant Islamists and the atrocities that they have perpetrated globally might undercut the positive achievements that we Catholics have attained in our inter-religious dialogue with devout Muslims.” — Robert McManus, Roman Catholic Bishop of Worcester, Massachusetts, February 8, 2013 “Pope condemns indifference to jihadist atrocities against Christians,” AFP, April 4, 2015: Vatican City (AFP) – Pope Francis condemned indifference and “complicit silence” to jihadist attacks on Christians as he presided over Easter ceremonies in the wake of a massacre of nearly 150 people at a Kenyan university by Shebab Islamists. The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics brought up the extremist persecution of Christians as the holiest ceremonies of the Church calendar reached a climax Sunday, when believers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. The Islamists behind Thursday’s university attack that shocked Kenya are reported to have separated out their victims into Muslims and non-Muslims, before killing the Christians. “Today we see our brothers persecuted, decapitated, crucified for their faith in you, under our eyes and often with our complicit silence,” the pope said after the traditional Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession through Rome on Friday, which recreates Christ’s last hours before he was crucified. The Vatican has increasingly voiced frustration that attacks on Christians in places such as Iraq, Libya, Pakistan and Nigeria have not been more strongly condemned by Muslim authorities and Western governments….
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